Ohio River village assesses storm damage, 3 dead

DAN SEWELLAssociated Press Published: March 3, 2012 7:22 PM

MOSCOW, Ohio (AP) -- Growling chain saws carved up fallen trees as shocked residents of an Ohio River village severely damaged by deadly storms began returning Saturday to assess whether they could clean up or would need to rebuild.

The heavy toll in Moscow included the loss of a village council member, one of three deaths reported in the state as the National Weather Service got word of possible tornadoes in at least six Ohio cities and towns Friday. Damage reports included downed power lines, splintered trees, the flattening of a gas station under construction, a mobile home blown into a street and telephone poles nearly hanging by a thread.

Moscow village Administrator Sandra Ashba estimated 25 of the 100 homes and other buildings in town were destroyed and said several dozen more were damaged. The roofs were torn from the post office and village hall, and some homes were stripped of their upper levels, leaving wood and roofing strewn across the ground.

Among them were two 4,000-square-foot houses on the river that date to the early 19th century and are historic sites because they were part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves fleeing the South reach freedom. At one house, half of the top floor was torn open. The other house had its second story gutted. Bricks covered the property, which had an uprooted tree and a Jeep flipped on its side.

Lifelong Moscow resident Linda Sisson, 51, took cover in a hallway at her brother-in-law's home when the bad weather hit.

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"It got quiet, and then it got real dark," she said. "We watched the black clouds come across the river from Kentucky. ... We felt the house rocking. It was pretty scary."

Many trees in the area had been snapped sideways or split down the middle, their battered branches littering the roadsides and piled around the 57-ton M60 Army battle tank in Moscow's Memorial Park. The shingled roof of Kay's Antiques had been blown about 20 yards onto a hillside, and a 4-foot stone statue of a woman carrying jug was toppled in the yard. Like many buildings in the area, the shop's windows had been blown out, and they were covered with cardboard.

"It's like a bomb went off and everything is splintered," said Gov. John Kasich, who declared an emergency and mobilized state resources to help. He talked by phone with President Barack Obama on Saturday but didn't request a federal emergency declaration, noting that officials are still assessing the damage.

Pieces of insulation and rugs hung from trees Saturday as residents who'd been away during the storm began returning. At first, authorities had allowed people to return only if they had specific needs, such as retrieving pets.

Village native Steve Newberry, 36, went into town with his mother, who was permitted in to pick up medical supplies.

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"This half is gone and that half is damaged," he said, pointing to the village. "It's a mess."

Dawn Walden and her husband were in Cincinnati and came home after the storms hit. They found their four large dogs had run out of the house but stayed nearby. Their home had minor roof damage, and their children were bringing in gasoline for a generator.

"We were one of the more fortunate," Walden said. "It's just unbelievable when you look at what happened just a couple doors down."

The storms were part of a system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes that killed more than three dozen people in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Alabama.

In Ohio, three people were killed, and more were injured.

Moscow Village Council member Carol Forsee, 64, was found dead in her home Friday in Moscow, said Clermont County spokeswoman Kathy Lehr said. Fifty-four-year-old James Prater was found dead in his mobile home in Bethel, about 35 miles southeast of Cincinnati, Lehr said. She identified the third victim as 58-year-old Bill Adkins of Bethel.

At least 25 homes in Bethel were damaged, including at least four that are considered a total loss, Lehr said.

Like Sisson, many in Moscow were trying to stay positive, saying they think they can rebuild, as they did in 1997 when the town was ravaged by flooding.

"It's going to take a lot of time," Sisson said. "Growing up here, we never thought anything like this would happen in this little town."

The National Weather Service was surveying parts of the area to determine the extent of the damage.